Observations on toxin and hemagglutinin produced by Clostridium botulinum type C.

In the culture fluid of a hemagglutinin-positive strain of Clostridium botulinum type C, two toxins of different molecular size, hemagglutinin positive and negative, were separated by sucrose density gradient centrifugation.     

Observations on toxin and hemagglutinin produced by Clostridium botulinum type C.

In the culture fluid of a hemagglutinin-positive strain of Clostridium botulinum type C, two toxins of different molecular size, hemagglutinin positive and negative, were separated by sucrose density gradient centrifugation.     

Sugar specificity of anti-B hemagglutinin produced by Streptomyces sp

A hemagglutinin specific for blood group B antigen has been purified to 190-fold from the culture fluid of a strain of $\text{Streptomyces}$ sp. by conventional procedure involving ammonium sulfate fractionation and column chromatography. The molecular weight of the partially purified preparation was estimated to be approximately 5000±1000; this value is extremely small as compared with those of hemagglutinins which have been so far isolated from various sources.Hemagglutination-inhibition tests revealed that the $\text{Streptomyces}$ agglutinin has a specificity to combine with D-galactose and several saccharides having D-galactose residues at the non-reducing terminal, and that the special configuration of the hydroxyl groups at C-2 and C-4, particularly the hydroxyl group at C-2, is essential for binding of the sugars to the hemagglutinin.     

Chitinase Production by Conidiobolus lamprauges and Other Conidiobolus Species

A class of yeast variants appears after cultivation of a bottom-fermenting brewing yeast strain, IFO2003. Although IFO2003 fails to grow well above 33°C, the variants can grow up to 34°C. Temperature-resistance and an acquired phenotype of maltose poor-fermentation ability are strictly correlated in the bottom-fermenting brewing yeast, enabling us to develop easy estimation of the fermentation ability of the variants.     

Stereochemical structure recognized by the L-fucose-specific hemagglutinin produced by Streptomyces sp

A hemagglutinin has been purified 4000-fold from the culture filtrate of a strain of Streptomyces by affinity chromatography. The purified preparation was judged to be homogeneous by gel electrophoresis and its molecular weight was estimated to be about 70 000 by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. It may exhibit its full hemagglutinating activity in the monomer form. This hemagglutinin strongly agglutinated human blood group O erythrocytes and was inhibited by L-fucose. It was, however, distinct from the known L-fucose-specific hemagglutinins; first, the hemagglutinating activity of the purified preparation was more than 100-times stronger than that of others; second, D-mannose was a potent inhibitor of this hemagglutinin besides L-fucose but not or scarcely inhibitory to others; and third, p-nitrophenyl-beta-L-fucoside was more inhibitory to this hemagglutinin than p-nitrophenyl-alpha-L-fucoside as opposed to the case of others.     

New antibiotics produced by Bacillus subtilis strains

Two Bacillus subtilis strains isolated from the fruiting body of a basidiomycete fungus Pholiota squarrosa exhibited a broad range of antibacterial activity, including those against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus INA 00761 (MRSA) and Leuconostoc mesenteroides VKPM B-4177 resistant to glycopeptide antibiotics, as well as antifungal activity. The strains were identified as belonging to the “B. subtilis” complex based on their morphological and physiological characteristics, as well as by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene fragments. Both strains (INA 01085 and INA 01086) produced insignificant amounts of polyene antibiotics (hexaene and pentaene, respectively). Strain INA 01086 also produced a cyclic polypeptide antibiotic containing Asp, Gly, Leu, Pro, Tyr, Thr, Trp, and Phe, while the antibiotic of strain INA 01085 contained, apart from these, two unidentified nonproteinaceous amino acids. Both polypeptide antibiotics were new compounds efficient against gram-positive bacteria and able to override the natural bacterial antibiotic resistance.     

Shigella dysenteriae 1-like cytotoxic enterotoxins produced by Salmonella strains.

A Salmonella enteritidis strain produced a cytotoxin in addition to heat-labile (LT) and heat-stable (ST) enterotoxins. Two strains of serotypes Salmonella kapemba and Salmonella thompson were LT and ST negative, but exhibited a cytotoxic effect. After Sephadex G-100 fractionation of the crude S. enteritidis material, some high and low molecular fractions had both cytotonic and cytotoxic activities. Of the two other salmonellae, only some high molecular fractions contained the cytotoxic substance. Neutralization experiments revealed an antigenic relationship between the cytotoxins studied and Shigella dysenteriae 1 enterotoxin. On the basis of cross neutralization and other data, it seems that cytotoxic and LT-like characters are carried by the same molecule. In S. thompson and S. kapemba the LT fails to exert a biological effect, although it is antigenically related to the LT of Escherichia coli.     

Macrocyclic trichothecene toxins produced by Stachybotrys atra strains isolated in Middle Europe.

A total of 17 strains of Stachybotrys atra isolated in Hungary and Czechoslovakia were cultured on Sabouraud agar, and the toxins produced by them were chemically analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography, high-pressure liquid chromatography, and mass spectroscopy. Furthermore, brine shrimp (Artemia salina) bioassay was used for the determination of toxicity of the compounds examined. Macrocyclic trichothecenes (satratoxins H and G, roridin E, and verrucarin J as well as two other unidentified macrocyclic trichothecenes) were found in all of the cultures tested. The identities of satratoxins H and G, roridin E, and verrucarin J were qualitatively determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography and gas-liquid chromatography. The ratio of satratoxins H and G and roridin E was found to be similar in each of the strains tested, but the amount of verrucarin J found was different in each of them. One of the unidentified macrocyclic trichothecenes was equivalent to the compound isolated by Harrach et al. (Harrach et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 41:1428-1433, 1981). The other one proved to be a newly isolated macrocyclic trichothecene toxin. Stachybotryotoxicosis, one of the oldest mycotoxicoses known, and a serious problem in Middle Europe (Gy. Danko, Magy. Allatorv. Lapja 31:226-232, 1976), is believed to be caused by macrocyclic trichothecene toxins produced by Stachybotrys atra (R. M. Eppley, in Rodricks et al., ed., Mycotoxins in Human and Animal Health, p. 285-293, 1977). Forty years ago, the death of animals in the Soviet Union was associated with this fungus (C. U. Ruhliada, in Proceedings of the All-Union Sci. and Tech. Conf., p. 47-51, 1980).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

A new syringopeptin produced by bean strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae

Two strains (B728a and Y37) of the phytopathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae isolated from bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) plants were shown to produce in culture both syringomycin, a lipodepsinonapeptide secreted by the majority of the strains of the bacterium, and a new form of syringopeptin, SP(22)Phv. The structure of the latter metabolite was elucidated by the combined use of mass spectrometry (MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and chemical procedures. Comparative phytotoxic and antimicrobial assays showed that SP(22)Phv did not differ substantially from the previously characterized syringopeptin 22 (SP(22)) as far as toxicity to plants was concerned, but was less active in inhibiting the growth of the test fungi Rhodotorula pilimanae and Geotrichum candidum and of the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus megaterium.     

Comparison of pigments produced by several strains ofMycobacterium phlei

Pigments of three genetically closely related strains ofMycobacterium phlei were studied. It was found that individual strains produced various quantities of coloured metabolites when cultivated in the dark. They differ from each other also in the quality of the produced pigments. Extracted pigments were separated by thin-layer chromatography and identified as carotenoids. High quantities of lycopene were found in a red non-acid-fast mutant. Biogenetic aspects of the pigments found in the studied strains ofMycobacterium phlei are discussed.     

Antitumour activities of levans produced by Zymomonas mobilis strains

Levans produced by four Zymomonas mobilis strains showed antitumour activity against sarcoma 180 and Ehrlich carcinoma in Swiss albino mice. Levans from two strains (ZAP and CP4) had the highest effects. NMR analysis showed that the polymers were composed only of fructose units. The results suggested that the antineoplasic effect is associated to the polysaccharide molecular weight and that a particular molecular weight range may be responsible for this effect.     

Fimbrial adhesins produced by atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli strains

Atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (aEPEC) has emerged as a significant cause of pediatric diarrhea worldwide; however, information regarding its adherence mechanisms to the human gut mucosa is lacking. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of several (fimA, ecpA, csgA, elfA, and hcpA) fimbrial genes in 71 aEPEC strains isolated from children with diarrhea (54 strains) and healthy individuals (17 strains) in Brazil and Australia by PCR. These genes are associated with adhesion and/or biofilm formation of pathogenic and commensal E. coli. Here, the most prevalent fimbrial genes found, in descending order, were hcpA (98.6%), ecpA (86%), fimA (76%), elfA (72%), and csgA (19.7%). Phenotypic expression of pili in aEPEC strains was assessed by several approaches. We were not able to detect the hemorrhagic coli pilus (HCP) or the E. coli laminin-binding fimbriae (ELF) in these strains by using immunofluorescence. Type 1 pili and curli were detected in 59% (by yeast agglutination) and 2.8% (by Congo red binding and immunofluorescence) of the strains, respectively. The E. coli common pilus (ECP) was evidenced in 36.6% of the strains on bacteria adhering to HeLa cells by immunofluorescence, suggesting that ECP could play an important role in cell adherence for some aEPEC strains. This study highlights the complex nature of the adherence mechanisms of aEPEC strains involving the coordinated function of fimbrial (e.g., ECP) and nonfimbrial (e.g., intimin) adhesins and indicates that these strains bear several pilus operons that could potentially be expressed in different niches favoring colonization and survival in and outside the host.     

Characterization of two forms of hemagglutinin/protease produced by Vibrio cholerae non-O1

Two forms (34 kDa and 32 kDa) of hemagglutinin/protease produced by Vibrio cholerae non-O1 were characterized. The hemagglutinin/protease purified by immunoaffinity column chromatography using a monoclonal antibody was essentially a 34-kDa form. By incubation of the purified 34-kDa form at 37 degrees C, it was processed (autodigested) to the 32-kDa form. The N-terminal 20 amino acid sequences of both the 34- and 32-kDa forms were identical, suggesting that proteolytic processing at the C-terminal region of the 34-kDa hemagglutinin/protease resulted in the 32-kDa form. With this shift, protease activity increased, but hemagglutinating activity decreased, suggesting that the C-terminal region of the hemagglutinin/protease is related to hemagglutinating activity.     

Aggregation of Actinomyces strains by extracellular vesicles produced by Bacteroides gingivalis

The aggregation of Actinomyces viscosus and Actinomyces naeslundii with extracellular vesicles of Bacteroides gingivalis was studied. Factors influencing the aggregation phenomenon were examined. L-Arginine was found to effectively inhibit aggregation as was an antibody preparation directed against a B. gingivalis surface hemagglutinin. Aggregation occurred over a wide pH range and did not seem to be affected by high salt concentrations or the presence of carbohydrates. Treatment of the vesicle preparation with proteases, sodium dodecyl sulphate, and high temperatures diminished or eliminated aggregation, while similar treatment of the Actinomyces had no effect on aggregation.